Allies of Plaxas

Chapter the Second: Opal

"You have got to be kidding me."

Kaitlynn shrugs and tosses a bundle of papers up to me on the top bunk. "It's what Saimad said when I went down to check on the news."

"Don't they need lots of fighters for that little fuss out there? What'll we do with Ruby? She's a week behind us in all of this!" I sigh, exasperated.

"I'm right here, you know. I can hear you. And I'll be fine." Ruby peers over the edge of the bunk bed to look up at me.

"How do we even know she has a power?" I continue.

Kaitlynn shrugs. "Look, if you want to go talk to Saimad, be my guest. But I'm not going down there again. It's a mess."

"Who's getting lunch?" Ruby asks, obviously trying to change the subject. "Kaitlynn, you were supposed to."

I jump off the top bunk and land in front of Kaitlynn, startling her. Then I turn to Ruby, holding out my hand to help her off the bed. "Come on. We're going to see someone. She'll help us."

The two of us leave Kaitlynn standing in the doorway, watching as we leave. "I guess I'll just....get lunch?" she says weakly.

As we walk through the hallways towards the tallest tower in the school, I think about the news that Kaitlynn brought back from the main hall, where Saimad is presiding, handing out food and news. Apparently they're starting up school again, even though the fight must still be going on. Even from here, within the safe walls of the school, I can hear sounds of the skirmish going on outside.

"Where are we heading?" Ruby asks, panting slightly as we begin the long climb to the tower.

"To get answers," I answer evasively. I stay silent for the rest of the climb, still thinking. There's been a lot going on lately.

The sun elves have been surprisingly resilient in this fight. It's been a week since the fight has begun, and two of them are still alive. They're really good at keeping all the soldiers back, but not that great at killing them....which is good for us. So far they've only killed around twenty of our hundreds of soldiers.

We reach the top of the staircase and I knock on the large wooden door. Ruby looks skeptical at where this is heading, but I'm confident.

It takes a few moments, but Mitali finally opens the door. She's looking more bedraggled than usual, with a rumpled robe and messy hair.

"Hello Opal and Ruby. Come on in," she says, stepping aside for us to pass through.

I grab Ruby's elbow before she tries to bolt, and I steer her into the training room. "She's not the Mistress," I whisper to her and push her into a comfy chair.

Mitali shuts the door and then crosses the room to Ruby, holding out her hand to shake. "Hello, Ruby. Opal has told me plenty about you. I'm glad you could make it here."

"Who are you? If you're not Kali, I mean," Ruby says, looking very small.

"My name is Mitali, and I'm Kali's twin sister. I'm just like the two of you," she smiles at us.

"You mean you're...." Ruby trails off. I can tell that she's shocked that there's someone else....like us.

Mitali nods. "I am indeed. More like Opal, I must say. It happened when we were in school. Kali was always an adventurous soul, but at that point she had gone too far. Experimenting on herself...."

"Well, it's better than experimenting on other people!" Ruby retorts.

I push her back down in the chair. "Ruby, calm down. Mitali is not like Kali."

Ruby sighs and puts her head in her hands. "Opal, you don't know what it's like...." she eventually looks up. "I know you didn't bring me here so we could discuss Kali. Why am I here?"

I look at my teacher. "Mitali, can you see, does she have any kind of magic in her?"

She nods immediately. "I sensed it as soon as you came through the door. "It's strong, almost as strong as yours. But the two of you are definitely strongest together. And together you guys are stronger than anyone has been in centuries. We need to train you two. We can't let your powers get in the wrong hands,"

I nod. "You're in luck, because Saimad decided to start school again."